The present invention relates to the removal of organic compounds from columns of air or water.
Currently, the most common methods of managing contaminated air and water columns utilize sorbent filtering devices comprised of non-woven fabric materials, such as polypropylene, or relying on filtration systems utilizing activated carbon to remove the organic compound pollutants from the candidate feed streams. For a variety of reasons, the effectiveness of these methods ranges from marginal to unsatisfactory.
The exertion of only a small amount of pressure is required to release the contaminants from the spent non-woven textile devices, making this option a messy and labor intensive means of dealing with the polluted feed streams. It also presents a problem when addressing the issue of disposal of the non-woven textile sorbent devices and the sorbed organics.
Activated carbon is also used to extract organic compounds from fluid columns. Feed streams containing organic compounds tend to glaze the surface of the activated carbon with a coat of the organic pollutants, reducing the rate of absorption and the effectiveness of the carbon as a filtration media. This results in the carbon filtration media being frequently replaced, thus increasing costs associated with the extraction of the organic compounds from the feed streams and generating a large volume of contaminated filtration media for processing and disposal.
In many instances, these methods of dealing with organic compound pollutants result merely in the contaminants being transferred to a different environment, where they must once again be processed for disposal.
The prior art methods of dealing with organic contaminants in air and water columns are harmful to the environment in that the issue of proper disposal of the free flowing contaminants after filtration remains. The use of sorbent devices is labor intensive, time consuming, messy and often results in the sorbed pollutants being disposed of in a landfill or creating expensive disposal problems. The free release of pollutants into a landfill facility accomplishes little more than converting the pollutant from an air or water borne contaminant into a land contaminant.